Innovative Car Parking System Project for Melbourne CBD

This project focuses on developing an innovative car parking system for Collin's Car Parking in Melbourne CBD. The system aims to streamline operations across 20 car parks, addressing key functions like ticket generation (daily, weekly, monthly, and annual), payment handling (card and cash), boom gate control, and security management. It differentiates between ordinary and fixed customers, detailing ticket types, parking fees, and access procedures. The project outlines an Entity Relationship Diagram, an algorithm for customer interactions, and source code screenshots. The system's primary goal is to optimize car park utilization, aiming to improve the current 87% rate. The project covers various aspects, including customer types, ticket generation, payment methods, and security protocols, offering a comprehensive solution for efficient car park management.

Introduction
The car park managed by the organization named the Collin’s Car Parking is functional as 20 car parks in
Melbourne CBD. For managing these car parks, the administration management within the city has a
raised a concerned and necessity to develop a newly functional and innovative system to control its car
parks. The system created should qualify the expectation to handle the day to day operation of each car
park. The day to day operation includes the below transactions happening at the counter of each car
park:
1. Ticket generation (daily, weekly, monthly, and annual)
2. Ticket acceptance
3. Payment handling
4. Controlling boom gates
5. Log book recording problems and manage security.
Scope and project description
Types of Customers
In the Collin’s parking there are two types of customers who park their car,
1. The first type - ordinary customers:
They must pay each time whenever they use any car park.
2. The second type - fixed customers
These customers must pay a fixed amount in advance to park their vehicles for weeks,
months and year in a specific car park. The fixed customers are allocated designated spaces. It is
imperative that a fixed customer can only park their vehicles in these designated spaces. These
spaces are not available to ordinary customers.
Tickets Generation
Depending on the type of user, the following types of tickets can be generated,
1. A fixed ticket is issued to a named individual or company, and the contact details (i.e.
name, mobile number, residential address and emergency details) is recorded. These tickets could be
issued for week(s), month(s) and year with a certain expiry date.
2. An ordinary ticket is issued for a short term (i.e. daily for few hours or a
complete day) stay at the car park.
Parking fees
Parking fees need to be calculated by using the following table.
1. Fixed customer:

1 week - 50 AUD
2 weeks - 95 AUD
1 month - 150 AUD
3 months - 350 AUD
6 months - 575 AUD
12 months 800 AUD
2. Ordinary customer:
a. Early bird (during weekday’s midnight to 10 AM) - 2.5 AUD per hour
b. Normal rate (during weekdays 10 AM to midnight) - 5 AUD per hour
c. Early bird (during weekend’s midnight to 10 AM) - 5 AUD per hour
d. Normal rate (during weekend’s 10 AM to midnight)- 10 AUD per hour
Mode of payment
Payment at car park can only be made through Card (Master / VISA / DEBT) or Cash (50c, 1$, 2$, 5$, 10$,
20$, 50$)
Access to the Car Park
When a car approaches an entry barrier, its presence is detected by a sensor under the road surface,
and a ‘Press Button’ display is flashed on the control pillar.
Different activity is expected from these types of customers.
1. The ordinary customer must press a button on the control pillar, and a ticket is printed and
issued. The ticket must be printed within five seconds. A ‘Take Ticket’ display is flashed on the
control pillar. When the customer pulls the ticket from the control pillar, the barrier is raised. If
the car park is full, no ticket is issued, and a ‘Full’ display is flashed on the control pillar.
2. The fixed ticket holder does not press the button, but insert their fixed ticket into a slot on the
control pillar. A check is made that the ticket is valid for this car park and has not expired. If all
these checks are passed, then the barrier is raised. The checks must take no longer than five
seconds. A record is made of the time of entry.
Exit the Car Park
1. Fixed ticket holders do not have to go to the pay station, when they are ready to leave the car
park, they go to the exit and insert their ticket into a slot on the exit barrier control pillar. The
barrier is raised and a record is made of the time at which the ticket holder left.
2. Ordinary ticket holders should go to the payment station to pay for their trip. To do so, the
ticket is inserted into a slot, the bar code is checked and the fees will be calculated. Upon
successful payment, the customer can go to the exit and insert their ticket into a slot on the exit
barrier control pillar. The barrier is raised and a record is made of the time at which the ticket
holder left.
Security Management

The City administration has a contract with security companies to visit the car parks at regular intervals.
The contract specifies the number of visits per day to each car park and the minimum duration of each
visit. When a security guard arrives in a car park, he or she puts a card into the card reader and the date
and time of arrival is recorded. When the security guard leaves, he or she puts the card in again, and the
departure time is recorded. (This card also allows security guards to enter and leave the car park in the
same way as fixed ticket holders. However, this is not used to record the arrival and departure of
security guards, as they may not be able to enter with a vehicle if there is a queue of cars at the barrier.)
Entity Relationship Diagram

Algorithm
1. Customer selects one option from the 4 available options on the control panel
2. Option 1 – Car park for ordinary customer
3. Option 2 – Car park for Fixed customer
4. Option 3 – Return Car
5. Option 4 – Exit
6. If the customer selects option 1 then enter the car id and the number of hours and once the
ticket is generated display ‘car parked successfully.
7. If the customer selects option 2 then enter the details of the customer like customer name, car
id, mobile number, address, emergence number, balance and once the ticket is generated
display ‘car parked successfully.
8. On the return of the car the price is calculated depending on the customer
9. If it is ordinary customer, the system calculates the parking price depending on the specified
rules on hour consumption and the duration.
10. If it is the fixed customer the parking price is calculated depending on the duration and is
deducted from the available balance with the customer.
11. Customer exits the control panel menu with option 4.
12. If customer chooses none of the above option, system should hint him that he has entered
inappropriate option and should enter the correct option from above.
Source Code
Screenshots

Facts and Statistics
The main intention behind creating this system is optimum utilization of the car park available.
By retrieving the recent statistics we can observe that there is 87% utilization. Hopefully through our
system it will help increase this factor.